Page 31 of Bad for Business
One of them—a brunette with caring eyes—steps forward. “Are you okay?”
I smile, trying not to freak either of them out. I’m in restricted territory, and I hope they don’t tell anyone else about me being in here. “I’m fine,” I begin with a resigned sigh. “Just babysitting and at the end of my rope.”
The brunette looks over at her friend. The blonde is the one to speak next. “I love kids.” Her voice is bubbly and full of excitement. “But they can be a handful sometimes.”
I can’t help but laugh. I now realize that I’m giving them the impression that I’m babysitting a child. I haven’t been around aton of kids in my life to know if I’m good with them or not, but right now, I think I’d rather babysit ten actual kids instead of having to be in charge of Ryker.
“Oh, I wish my problem was a child. Unfortunately, I’m tasked with babysitting a grown man who’s currently making me contemplate committing murder.” My eyes go a little wide as I realize that I just admitted to two strangers that I’ve thought about killing Ryker. Hopefully, they know I wouldn’t actually kill him. I don’t think I’d survive prison.
The blonde nods as if she knows exactly what I’m talking about. “Men will do that.”
I feel my body loosen a little as I give her a smile. Both girls look like they could be my age, and there’s something about them that I instantly like. “Yes, they will,” I agree. Ryker’s face flashes through my mind. “Especially this one.”
The blonde tosses her hair over her shoulder and leans forward. “Ditch his ass.”
The brunette’s eyes go a little wide as she shakes her head. There’s a smile still on her lips as she looks at her friend. “You can’t say that to people you don’t know.”
I wave a hand through the air dismissively. “It’s fine.” I sigh, trying to make sure I don’t come off wrong to either one of them. If they’re employees here, I might be seeing them around a lot this summer, and it’d be nice to maybe make some friends, or at least something close to it. “I’m Camille. Trust me, I wish I could ditch him. I dream about it every night, but tragically, my job depends on babysitting a self-absorbed asshole who wants to make my life miserable any chance he gets.”
I wince a little at my words, realizing they’re a little harsh. Most people seem to love Ryker; he apparently saves being a pain in the ass just for me.
“That sounds awful,” the brunette notes. She chews on her lip as her eyes rake over my face.
“Is he hot, at least?” the blonde asks. A few seconds later, she’s wincing and letting out a yelp as her friend playfully hits her.
I can’t help but laugh at her question. My job might be easier if Ryker weren’t hot. I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear and let out a sarcastic laugh. “Unfortunately, yes. And he knows it.”
The blonde whistles. “The worst combination.”
I try to look at their uniforms to see if I can find a name tag for either, but I don’t see anything. “You’re telling me,” I respond before pushing my body away from the door. When I first met Ryker at the New Year’s Eve party, I found his confidence appealing. I loved how he knew he was attractive, but he didn’t flaunt it. Now, the fact that he’s so good-looking, and he knows it, is driving me crazy. “I’ve got to get going. I snuck away for a moment while my client talked business with Beckham Sinclair, but I’ve got to get back to the table before he runs away and I get fired.”
I leave out the part where he’s already run away from me once before. Technically, this time, I ran away from him, but that’s only because I was confident that he wouldn’t abruptly leave his lunch with Beck. As nice as it’s been to vent about Ryker to these two strangers, I’ve got to get back to doing my job.
“Good luck,” the blonde begins with a reassuring smile. “If all else fails, give him a nice kick in the balls to keep him in line!”
I try not to laugh at her words. She says it so innocently, a strand of hair wrapped around her finger as she talks about kicking a man where it’ll hurt the most.
“Nice meeting you, Camille,” the brunette interrupts. Her lips twitch with the hint of a smile as she tries to keep a straight face after her friend’s comment.
Running into both of them was a surprise, but something about them makes me want to be their friend. I’ve always been too busy for friends, but I realize that’s maybe somethingI should change. Being twenty-four without any real friends probably isn’t healthy. Hopefully, I’ll see them around more so I can try to get to know them.
I open the door and give them what I hope is a friendly smile. If I’m going to survive this summer with Ryker, making some friends might not be a terrible idea. “I’ll be dreaming about giving him a good kick in the balls.”
I try not to jump when a familiar voice comes from in front of me. “Are you in there gossiping about my balls?”
The door slams shut behind me as I come face-to-face with Ryker.
My hand flies to my chest as I try to gather myself after the shock of seeing him waiting on the other side of the door. “Ryker,” I manage to get out, my heart racing.
“Why were you in the employee locker room, and why were you talking about kicking me in the balls?” he asks, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he watches me closely.
“That’s none of your business,” I respond, stepping to the side so I can walk past him. “Don’t eavesdrop on my conversations.”
He chuckles from behind me as he follows. “You were talking loudly. It’s not my fault I could hear it.”
I stop and turn around before we walk back into Pembroke Grill. “Why were you there to begin with?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest as I wait for him to answer.
His eyes go wide for a moment and I swear his cheeks turn a little pink. “I was just…” He scratches the back of his neck as he looks over my shoulder for a minute.
